Movie Summary

Inherit the Wind (1960) is an award-winning dramatized account of the now-famous 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial. Dick York plays schoolteacher Bertram Cates (mirroring the real-life John Scopes); police arrest Cates mid-lecture following reports that he had given an earlier biology lesson suggesting that Darwin's Theory of Evolution is a practical scientific alternative to the Christian theory of Creationism. The state accuses Cates of violating statewide legislation forbidding teachers from contradicting Christian ideals in the classroom. As news of the trial and Cates' alleged crime spread throughout the country, Cates must endure the wrath of the public. Led by fire-and-brimstone Reverend Jeremiah Brown (Claude Akins), they threaten Cates' life, burn effigies, and question his morals. Fortunately for Cates, prominent defense attorney Henry Drummond (Spencer Tracy) is assigned to his case. Drummond faces Matthew Henderson Brady (Fredric March), a politician and all-around religious zealot. The trial draws nationwide controversy as the teams square off, trading dialogue that was largely reproduced word-for-word from the Scopes trial courtroom transcripts.

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